Schloss Matzenbach

Schloss Matzenbach stood in the centre of Matzenbach, now part of Fichtenau in the Schwäbisch Hall district. In 1524 Wolfgang Jakob Senft von Sulburg built a manor house on the site, replacing an earlier structure. His descendants replaced it in 1620 with a large rectangular castle that had a stair turret on the west side. A fire in 1873 destroyed almost everything except the southern round tower, which still stands today. The castle began as a knightly estate in the 16th century under Michael Völker. His daughter Dorothee married Wolfgang Jakob Senft von Sulburg, who acquired the other half of Matzenbach and formed the knightly estate. The Senft von Sulburg family lived there until the early 19th century. After the last male heir died in 1817, the property passed through several owners, including an army officer and a consortium that sold the contents, including more than a hundred oil paintings. Today the surviving Läuteturm stands in the Schlosshof. Nearby buildings include the former inn called Zum Phönix and the house once owned by Gust. Fuchs. A spiral staircase once led up the tower, and the whole area shows traces of the old castle layout. The quiet square now holds little of the grand residence except the tower and a few smaller buildings.